
He fell in love.
She, out.

He fell in love.
She, out.

What if I wake up tomorrow to find I’ve hit a block so hard that there’s no coming back? What if, I can’t write anymore?
It’s a hypothetical question, but a wake up call as well. Because I don’t have a contingency plan. I don’t know what I’d do if I don’t write. I’m lucky my job involves writing and my hobby is writing. But if I can’t do the one thing I can do, what would I do then?
I would try singing. But I make people bleed from their ears.
Maybe I’d just go back to studying. I like studying, I like poring over books and reading between lines. I like reading great writers, and I’d revel in words, delve deep into the mystical world of literary puns and illiterate goons.
I’d wake up each morning, breathe in words — from Shakespeare and Milton to Doyle and Christie. I’d bury myself in fresh prints and vintage tints, reading in bed, every day — on Valentine’s too.
And while turning the pages, I’d whistle my favourite tunes — and no one can tell me it’s not a girl-thing to do . I’d sing when I feel like it, I’d read aloud, I’d narrate, I’d play the part of the main character and test my vocals; “Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”
I’d read book after book, I’d turn page after page, I’d inhale in morsels, the ink on those books, and get drunk in the pleasure of alliteration and word manipulation.
And then I’d realise romance isn’t my forte, and I’d pick something closer to my heart; because I know, “something wicked this way comes.”
And once I step over my Rubicon, there’s no return. And I’d be for eternity under the influence of the greatest drugs known to mankind; “words, words, words.”
Fell in love, then into sea.


They faced each other
Smiles so true and pure
Eyes full of compassion
Trust growing within.
They faced each other
Smiles reaching ears
Eyes crinkled in truth
Love seeping through.
They faced each other
Smiles just a shadow
Eyes boring into the other
Hatred reeking through.
They faced each other
Smiles set and fixed
Eyes wide in hope
Dupe in a handshake.
They faced each other
Smiles set as friends
Eyes reflecting past
Bittersweet in breakup.
We’ve all faced it before, but still forget how easy it is to break your heart again and again.
I’ve had so many heartbreaks.
When I was five passing through the fancy store, longing to make that expensive cloth doll my own.
When I walked into school for the first time, and my neighbour had longer, darker hair than mine.
When my class teacher punctured my ego, knocking points off for my hasty handwriting.
When my mother denied me a fifth slice of cake.
When my father wouldn’t sign my report card because of a few failures, and I had to face detention in school.
When I opened my laptop for the first time in a new job and it didn’t boot.
When I realized my colleagues have moved on and I was still getting coffee.
When I stole my brother’s wallet only to find bills in there.
When I had to endure the funeral of my favourite teacher.
They all flash before my eyes when I play this song in my headset.
“What becomes of the broken-hearted… who had love that’s now departed?”
And I realize: We’ll be fine.